While I posted this picture and poem shortly after I started this blog almost a year ago, I am re-posting it with a few minor changes today. The time leading up to winter solstice has felt particularly heavy this year, as if the earth’s gravity weighs us down even more than usual. I understand how our ancestors who had nothing more than a few precious candles or oil lights to make it through the depth of winter welcomed the light of the sun. Light was a promise, light was a gift, light was life itself. And it still is today…
Winter Solstice
At the end of a sullen day,
frozen into grey monotones,
the clouds open
to reveal an unexpected gift:
lemon zest and spring butter yellow,
gleaming gold, ochre sand dunes,
egg yolk orange and pumpkin spice.
Sun rays kiss
the cherry tree good night,
snuggling the snowy hill under a
somber purple cloak
a passionate lullaby of colors
swaying to a few breathless beats
flooding me
with certain knowing
that light will
return tomorrow
to banish the
darkness.
Beautiful picture. The gold and blue hues are amazing.
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Thank you, Milka. Nature can really surprise us in unexpected ways.
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The colours here were almost at the opposite end of the spectrum, but strangely enough the mood hasn’t been very different. A very lovely post. Thank you.
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Yes, you just had your SUMMER solstice down under! Wishing you something sweet coming your way that will lift your mood….
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It takes a couple of days for the energy of the solstice to dissipate, as I experience it. The build-up just before is always heavy/intense but not in a negative way – more of an all-powerful, hold-on-to-your-hat kind of way. Thus there is something very peaceful about the return part of the cycle…
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Yes, I agree. It’s not a one-day deal at all….
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This is a beautiful post, full of the promise of the light.
Great minds think alike, and post alike 🙂
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Exactly my thoughts when I read your post yesterday decorated with moody grey sky picture!
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Beautifully done Annette. Photo is perfect for the poem and vice versa!
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Thank you, Tina. The picture inspired the poem; but the season had carried the mood for a while.
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What a lovely poem and image, Annette. Your imagery in the poem is wonderful; I especially like the “sullen day,” “sun rays kissing the cherry trees,” “lullaby of colors,” and your color images. Wonderful. 🙂
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The pleasure in finding these words reflected the pleasure in watching those beautiful, if very transient and short-lived, colors in the picture. Thanks for your comment, Cathy.
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Beautifully done. This has been a particularly heavy year, and hopefully the solstice is a new beginning.
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I hope so, too, Barney.
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Thanks for dropping by my blog and leaving a link to this post. You have truly captured how the gift of light in this darkest time of year can make the spirit smile.
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Thanks for trusting the light and I hope your spirit smiles brightly into the New Year.
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Beautiful – both the poem and the pictures!!
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Thanks, Darshana, for stopping by and commenting. This time of the year, THIS is my favorite poem, it always makes me smile.
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🙂
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magic!
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